In an update to “this story”:http://www.back-to-iraq.com/archives/000452.php#000452, the two sol­diers who wed Iraqi brides while on patrol are hav­ing a bit of a tough time of it.

Sgt. Sean Black­well, 27, is being pun­ished for divulging the time and loca­tion of the patrol to his bride and the Iraqi judge who mar­ried them, his attor­ney said. The Florida National Guards­man avoided a pos­si­ble court-martial for dere­lic­tion of duty and dis­obey­ing orders.
Black­well received a writ­ten rep­ri­mand in advance of the dis­charge, attor­ney Richard Alvoid said.
“The more they pun­ish him, the more neg­a­tive pub­lic­ity the mil­i­tary likely will receive,” he said. “He is guilty of falling in love.”

Black­well hasn’t seen his wife since their wed­ding Aug. 17. (They’ve since been allowed phone con­tact.) As his mother says, “He’s a lit­tle ticked off at the gov­ern­ment right now,” she said. “I’d hate for him to get a dis­hon­or­able dis­charge because he fell in love.“
His buddy, Cpl. Brett Dagen, who also mar­ried an Iraqi woman in a dou­ble cer­e­mony with Black­well when they took a break from their foot patrol — and thus invited dis­ci­pli­nary action — and his wife are get­ting divorced under pres­sure from the woman’s fam­ily. And Blackwell’s wife, Ehdaa, has appar­ently received threats (she is still in Iraq) and may flee to West­ern Europe where the cou­ple can reunite.
I sup­pose there was no way to avoid the dis­ci­pli­nary action, but I do hope that Black­well and his wife can see each other again soon. At least this doesn’t seem to be end­ing up like _Romeo and Juliet_ did. In fact, no mat­ter what hap­pens, there seems to be an all-American end­ing in store: Blackwell’s lawyer, Alvoid, said he’s work­ing on a book deal for Black­well and his wife, and that a movie will soon follow.